Not so clever now

Exciting news from the world of high finance!

GMR Group won the prestigious Infrastructure Acquisition of the Year award at the annual Infrastructure Journal (IJ) Award Ceremony held in London on Thursday, 12th March, 2009.

... GMR Group was shortlisted among the top rated companies in the Infrastructure Deal of the Year category which included; the £3.6bn acquisition of Angel Trains by a consortium of investors including; Babcock & Brown, AMP Capital Investors, Deutsche Bank and funds advised by Access Capital...

Perhaps they can also help with the inevitable fire sale?

We're in for a Spring of Discontent

The Brothers look set to blow Gordon's last chance of winning a June election.

This from the RMT...

RMT members at First Capital Connect voted by more than three to one to strike, and at National Express East Anglia by more than two to one, after the employers refused to provide unequivocal assurances that there would be no compulsory redundancies.

The RMT lost the third ballot at SWT where members voted against strike action.

Mind you serves Gordon right.

He was very free and easy with our cash when it came to bailing out car workers and bankers...

Barriers to goodwill

Thanks to the TSSA the mainstream media has finally woken up to the implications of the ludicrous spread of barriers.

This from Michael Williams in today's Independent...

Now National Express wants to ban trainspotters, a move backed by Rail minister Lord Adonis, who is offering government money for "gating" to tackle fare evasion. In reality it is a sop to rail companies during the recession.

This will create enmity, as it is a mistake to assume all rail fans are geeks. Six weeks ago, thousands turned out to celebrate the maiden mainline journey of the first new steam express engine to be built in Britain for nearly 50 years. I was there with my children, thinking that these days it might be better to grow up a train driver than a banker after all.

It's not just train spotters Michael.

Pity the poor passenger with luggage or those who wish to say farewell to loved ones - all of whom will be massively inconvenienced by these ill thought out schemes.

And what about local residents, like those at York and Sheffield, who have traditionally used stations to get from one part of their city to another?

Enmity? More like cold, hard, furious rage!

What a great PR victory for the industry.

UPDATE:This detailed rant from James D of the Tafia...

Then there's the disastrous barriering of Cardiff Central.

The barriers are only really needed on platforms 6 and 7, as the layout of the station neatly splits long-distance and local services. They should therefore have been installed at platform level on that platform only.

Instead, ARRIVA Trains Wales (why are they running such a major station instead of the Intercity operator First Great Western anyway?) have installed a total mess of a barrier scheme.

The important things to note about Cardiff Central are that the car park is on the south side, and two subways - one with stairs and one with lifts - span the station.

Probably the more serious problem is ARRIVA's decision to permanently close and lock the south entrance to the lift subway, despite the obvious likelihood of anyone who needs the lift arriving by car. Quite how sending someone with mobility difficulties through three sets of barriers complies with the DDA is mind-boggling.

This problem is compounded by ARRIVA's poor staffing levels. Cardiff Bus services tend to finish relatively early, so people who know they will be arriving back late at night tend to use the car park.

ARRIVA have an awful tendency to short-staff the barriers in the evenings, deciding to close the south side of the station completely rather than leaving the barriers open. Although the Penarth Road under the railway is more creepy than unsafe, ARRIVA should not be forcing people to walk it alone at night.

There is something seriously wrong with allowing such a half-baked scheme to be built. The authorities lost a key bargaining chip in allowing this one to go ahead - they could have used it to make ARRIVA carry out a more substantial rebuild of Cardiff Central's outmoded design in exchange for being allowed to barrier it.

I would now encourage the WAG to designate both subways as public rights of way, so that ARRIVA are forced to remove their hare-brained barrier scheme and we can start again from a sensible position.

Spot the Vicar of Dawlish

Enter The Eye's exciting new competition!

Using your skill and judgement pinpoint where the Vicar of Dawlish is in this picture from the Daily Mail/Evening Standard.

Fabulous prizes to be won including FREE access to Railway Pictures!

Clue: The reverend father has adopted a cunning pair of dark glasses.

Lookalike X

Flywheel, Shyster and Flywheel

The Parry People Mover goes from strength to shambles.

Regular Eye readers may recollect that the class 153 linking Stourbridge Jct and Town ceased operating last December to allow the introduction of the Pans People Mover.

Owing to technical difficulties (Dee-dee feeling unwell) the rail service had to be bustituted.

Alas!

Despite further Peter Pan Mover trials last week it appears that class 153s are to return to the branch!

The following words of wisdom have been issued jointly by London Midland and subcontractor PPM operator Pre Metro Operations Ltd.

London Midland is re-introducing a train service to the Stourbridge Junction to Stourbridge Town branch from Sunday (March 15) in response to our passengers’ wishes. We have responded by bringing back the Class 153 diesel service whilst assisting the phasing-in of a new type of lightweight railcar in the coming weeks.

Lightweight sounds generous, try flyweight.

Undeterred the Purple People Eaters continue, at some length:

The Class 139 lightweight railcar type is highly innovative and as such its introduction is the first of its kind on the UK railway network, and innovations can take time to develop and implement. The first of the two new vehicles is at the depot at StourbridgeTown branch and is awaiting approval for passenger operation. However, London Midland is keen to offer an improved level of service to passengers as soon as possible and the bus replacements were only ever designed to be a short term measure.

We believe it is time to stop them and bring train operations back because of strong public feedback in favour of the rail service. In full agreement with all concerned, we have decided to run the diesel Class 153s as previously, and to phase in the lightweight Class 139s as soon as possible.

In short it looks like Network Rail is still unwilling to grant the Parry People Mover permission to operate.

Can it be long before Pinky and Perky Machines paraphrase the great Groucho and admit they "would not join any club that would accept them as a member"?

Angel for sale - again?

As Gordon seems happy to throw cash at bust banks perhaps its time to invest in something that actually retains residual value.

Perhaps a Rosco?

Not HSBC Rail of course, which has been on sale since God was a boy.

But Angel, whose owners Babcock and Brown are fast approaching the financial equivalent of the U bend.

If 'Angle' were to be taken "state-side" then at least Marsham Street would get some professional help setting up 'Diesels 'r' Us'.

Unlikely of course, as DafT is already packed with experts.

The same ones who presided over the glorious victory at the Competition Commission.

PS With thanks to Tree Bridge Watcher and The Master who spotted the previous deliberate mishtake...

Railway Eye quiz

Two industry titles are offering new subscribers a Free Mystery Gift Worth up to £30!

Eye readers are invited to guess the following:

Subscribing to which Rail title earns you a bottle of Hugo Boss aftershave?

And which Steam Railway magazine rewards new subscribers with an album from The Pussycat Dolls?

Answers on a postcard please to Brauer Media.

Eye readers of course get their vitriol for free.

It was the Sun that lost it

More good news from ATOC's thrusting new team.

Murdoch's Sun has usually proven a good friend to the railway.

Previous promotions with the Currant Bun have generated conversion rates of 150,000 to 200,000 transactions.

Alas.

According to exasperated sources ATOC's latest 2FOR1 offer resulted in a mere 10,000 punters taking up the offer.

As this is much less than 10% of what was achieved in the past how have Roberts' Bright Eyed Boys justified the debacle?

Severe weather conditions affected rail services and dominated the news.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, cash strapped owner groups are looking to renegotiate their annual membership fees.

Barbarian at the Gates?

Whilst ATOC self immolates finally some good news from the Brothers!

Regular readers of the Eye will be aware that ATOC has been unable to update their enthusiast guidelines owing to anyone who knows anything about the railway industry being defenestrated by Michael Roberts' new team.

However, in an unlikely turn of events, it falls to the Transport Salaried Staff Association to come to the rescue of hard pressed gricers!

Rail union TSSA are to challenge the ruling by National Express to ban train-spotters from their stations on the East Coast line.

Union general secretary Gerry Doherty, said, "Sir John Betjeman will be turning in his grave at this news. It means that the barbarians have finally taken over the industry. Only people with no sense of history would commit such an act of mindless vandalism."

The Fact Compiler feels that the term "barbarians" may be a little harsh.

Better Bowker's own words - "A villain forever more".

Virgin screwed

***Beardie Rail confirms falling passenger revenue***

UPDATE: This from Pendolino Warrior...

They may be screwed but they have finally got Internet Access working...

So now I can read how they are screwed!

Falling passenger numbers?

Tell me about it - under 10 in a 1st class quiet coach on the 07:30 from New Street to Euston last Friday.

Sshhh! It's a quiet coach - for a reason!

Vote Liberal...

***This isn't quite the way Grayfriar's Bobby ended.***
 

Open access lessons from Japan

Telegrammed by our man at 222 Marylebone Road
There is nothing like free trade.

A tip of the bowler to Derby North MP Bob Laxton for eliciting this gem in a written answer from DafT.

UK and European rail industry suppliers are able to bid for railway rolling stock tenders in Japan, although the European Commission estimates that around 98 per cent. of procurements are not competitively tendered.

And this is nothing like free trade!

Coucher raises a cheer for Scotland

It's amazing what 30, sixteen stone, men with odd shaped balls can achieve.

Despite next weekend's planned ECML blockade NR has agreed to introduce Single Line Working to allow a couple of trains to link the two nations!

Hurrah for the rugger-buggers, who appear to have broken NR's risk averse culture; something railway operators have singularly failed to do post privatisation.

There is of course no truth to the rumour that Iain only approved SLW so that a big Scots crowd can see England's ritual humiliation at Twickers.

First out!

***FirstGroup to exit the FTSE 100***

Crossrail Programme Partner announced

***Crossrail has selected Transcend as Programme Partner***

The announcement on which bidder has won the Delivery Partner role (Central London tunnelled section) is believed to have been delayed by several weeks.

Brady bunchballs

The Eye has received a number of furious emails about the latest press release to emerge from the Associated Train Crew Union.

ACTU circulated the following to the media yesterday:

ATCU argues that terrorists do not require the use of explosives to disrupt the mainline rail system, all that is required is the purchasing of a standard rail ticket.

The release then goes on to explain precisely how any malcontent could gain access to a cab.

Shaun Brady the acting general secretary said “terrorists are continually looking at ways of creating as much disruption and mayhem and it is our considered opinion that, before long, they may see the mainline railway system as a prime target”.

If they didn't they do now!

UPDATE: This from an 'Anonymous' reader...

I read the ACTU press release on their website.

It’s interesting to note that scrolling all the way down the release leads you to the next one, dated March 6 and entitled “Companies Exploiting Climate of Fear”.

Pot, kettle, black maybe?

National Excrete

***Oh Dear!***

Clark rewrites history

Telegrammed by Ithuriel

According to the Greek God's mini-me in the House of Commons, Paul Clark:

"Some hon. Members referred to times gone by. Thirty years ago, the railway was being written off as an expensive, outdated and declining mode of transport."

Not by Sir Peter Parker and Sir Bob Reid it wasn't!

And at that time brand new Intercity 125s were being extended to the East Coast Main Line having given the Western Region the fastest trains in Europe and second only in the world high speed league table to the Japanese bullet trains.

In fact eximious railway historian Dr Terry Gourvish considers this period a Golden Age, when Bob Reid's business led railway was in the making.

The so-called Clark went on to say:

"Some hon. Members claimed that the railways had improved because of privatisation. I well remember in 1997 that the railway lines in my neck of the woods suffered from gross under-investment, were unreliable and had rolling stock from the 1960s and 1970s. [Interruption] That is not nonsense."

So nationalised railway bad, privatised railway bad.

Good grief, we're back to the 'Third Way'!

UPDATE: This from BR PR legend Alan Marshall...

"30 years ago BR was perceived by virtually every railway overseas as one of the best in the world, and operating with the least amount of government subsidy!"

"Where on earth is the rest of the railway industry in rubbishing this sort of comment?"

Presumably busy trying not to bite the hand that feeds it.

HS2 Endorsed - licence revoked?

So how many endorsements does this need before it takes effect?

This from DafT...

Plans for one of the country's most crucial transport projects to date, High Speed 2, were officially endorsed by the Department for Transport today (Tuesday 10 March).

Talk is cheap.